Police wait to question Exeter bomb suspect

Police investigating the suspected terrorist bombing of an Exeter restaurant are hoping to question their prime suspect this week.

Nicky Reilly remains in hospital under armed guard and is described as being in a stable condition. He is not yet medically fit to be interviewed by police after treatment for serious facial injuries sustained when the bomb partially detonated.

A key strand of the investigation is whether the attack was the work of a "loner", with questions being asked over what the authorities knew about Reilly before his arrest.

Sources stress the investigation remains at an early stage, but say Reilly does not seem to be part of a wider terrorist cell, a feature that has been a hallmark of past terrorist attacks and plots in Britain.

The 22-year-old convert to Islam was seen with blood on his face after a device partially exploded in the restaurant on Thursday. Police said then that he had been preyed upon and radicalised because of his vulnerability. On Friday it was alleged that Reilly had received a text message of encouragement before leaving his Plymouth home to catch a bus to Exeter.

A second man arrested in Plymouth by armed police on Friday remains in custody and a third is helping police inquiries.